What is an Eruv?

Eruv, meaning to "mix or join together," is a device that
integrates a number of private and public properties
into one larger domain, thereby
permitting Jews, under Jewish law, to carry items and
wheel strollers within its borders on the Sabbath each week. This larger
domain is created by delineating physical boundaries,
often by utilizing a combination of wires, posts, and other
existing structures and incorporating them into
the Eruv's construction.

Just as it joins physical spaces together into one large domain,
the Eruv allows a "joining together" of a Jewish community as well.
It allows parents of young children, who must be carried or pushed in a stroller,
to reach a synagogue on the Sabbath.
It allows people to meet with friends at neighborhood homes and bring food
or other items to share as part of
festive Sabbath meals. It benefits the elderly whose
use of canes, wheelchairs and other ancillary items
is not otherwise permitted. It allows people
to bring a tallit (prayer shawl) or siddur (prayerbook)
to synagogue, or to carry glasses, house keys and other
items. Thus, it encourages greater interaction and participation
in Jewish life by members of the community.

The Center City Eruv is maintained by community volunteers. The Eruv requires regular repairs and
maintenance, and occasionally expansion projects as the Jewish community in Center City grows. Please
consider donating to the Center City Eruv Corporation (links provided to the right).